Councillor Dann (Cabinet Member for Customer Experience, Sport, Leisure & HR, and OD) supported by Rhys Jones (Chief Executive Officer, Plymouth Active Leisure) and Louise Kelley (Sports Development Manager, Plymouth Active Leisure) introduced the report and highlighted the following points;

a)    Plymouth Active Leisure (PAL) worked across the city to get more people active;

b)    PAL had provided £2 million pounds worth of social value to the Plymouth in the first quarter of 2025/26;

c)    PAL linked in with several different teams across the Council to deliver a variety of services including bike and baby rides, and bike-ability, to drive shared priorities and objectives;

d)    The Active Health Program which launched in 2024, had been a huge success with referrals into the programme from health professionals to assist people who would benefit from exercise, but also for those who might not be able to afford a gym membership;

a.     YMCA and Argyle Trust sponsored sessions for up to eight weeks, at the end of which there was an opportunity for people to get a reduced price membership for a further year, whilst still supported;

b.    296 people had been referred so far and had had positive reported health benefits including a significant loss in reported back pain and shoulder pain;

e)    In a recent Quest Assessment, which was an external body that assessed sport and leisure services, PAL had scored excellent within the tackling inequalities module;

f)     It was important not to underestimate the ripple effect of support from PAL’s various programmes had;

g)    Some people found the social side of exercise to also be very beneficial;

h)    A video was played at this point in the meeting providing an update on the Adapt programme which supported children with SEND, getting them active, as well as providing a great social opportunity, and the chance to try new sports and activities.

In response to questions the following was discussed:

i)     The Adapt programme was being expanded and there would be more inclusive SEND opportunities provided throughout facilities, including short break family breaks which were very popular and had a wait list;

j)     There was a Sport England grant available for new adaptive climbing equipment;

k)    The team worked in partnership with various organisations to connect people to the programme, but were open to other opportunities and connections to increase access;

l)     The team worked with home-educated children in a variety of projects such as the ‘Fit and Fed’ project, and offering diving and climbing facility activites at the Life Centre. There were a vast array of facilities and resources available in Plymouth, which the team worked to promote;

m)  Access to sporting facilities had been identified as a barrier, particularly travel time and cost. The Life Centre was centrally located, and had good transport links, with free public parking. Work was ongoing with Wellbeing Hubs and transport providers to reduce access barriers;

n)    The pilot of the ‘Adapt’ project had highlighted several barriers which had not been initially predicted, and the team had worked to ensure activities were friendly, accommodating and solution focused;

o)    Plymouth had recently submitted a bid to Sports England to encourage activity, particularly for children, young people and their families. Learning was shared across the Active Health Partnership comprised of numerous stakeholders across the city. Result of the bid would be brought back to the Cabinet for consideration;

p)    A new strategic plan for Plymouth Active Leisure was under development which would link together the key city agendas including green spaces, blue spaces, the environment, children and adults services, education, and building careers. The plan would be brought to Cabinet when complete.